• Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
    You are viewing our forum as a guest. Join our free community to post topics and start private conversations. Please contact us if you need help.
  • Christmas Music
    Our 24th annual Christmas Music Merrython is underway on Muppet Central Radio. Listen to the best Muppet Christmas music of all-time through December 25.
  • Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
    Let us know your thoughts on the Sesame Street appearance at the annual Macy's Parade.
  • Jim Henson Idea Man
    Remember the life. Honor the legacy. Inspire your soul. The new Jim Henson documentary "Idea Man" is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
  • Back to the Rock Season 2
    Fraggle Rock Back to the Rock Season 2 has premiered on AppleTV+. Watch the anticipated new season and let us know your thoughts.
  • Bear arrives on Disney+
    The beloved series has been off the air for the past 15 years. Now all four seasons are finally available for a whole new generation.
  • Sam and Friends Book
    Read our review of the long-awaited book, "Sam and Friends - The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show" by Muppet Historian Craig Shemin.

When you were little...

Nick22

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
1,664
Reaction score
41
i actually dont think i ever wondered why i never saw the bottom half. at least i dont rully remember caring.
 

APRena

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
375
Reaction score
2
I always wondered why they didn't have tongues... except for Zoe, who I thought was talking with her mouth full or something. I never questioned their feet, I just thought, "Oh, well of course they have feet how else are they moving?" It never occured to me that they were nonliving pieces of felt. They were and still are alive.
 

Redsonga

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,167
Reaction score
82
I didn't wonder why, they were alive to me...Even when I was 12 and first finally saw Fraggle Rock...SOmething about how when you did see their feet, they were realistic :3. And their faces have such emotion..they still aren't 'just puppets' to me...
In fact, muppets I feel are so high above everyday puppets, they would never have that label :big_grin:
 

CensoredAlso

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
13,453
Reaction score
2,291
Honestly I never thought to wonder why it was only from the waist up. That's what made them amazing, the performance was so entrancing you accepted everything else. :smile:
 

Redsonga

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,167
Reaction score
82
I always loved their bobbing 'walking' actually, it has always been one of my favorite things...Only muppets seem to walk that way to, it's not just a puppet thingie :3
 

Drtooth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
31,717
Reaction score
6,710
I can't speak for when I was really really little, since I don't quite have that memory... but to me, I always knew they were puppets. I didn't care that they were, and they were still real to me, but I knew they were from the mind of Jim Henson and his wacky crew of brilliant entertainers. Like the way you always knew Bugs Bunny was a drawing that somehow moved.
 

Crazy31088

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2003
Messages
110
Reaction score
2
Y'know, it's funny...as much as I thought about the Muppets in my childhood, I really don't think I ever wondered why we never saw below their waists. Their upper halves seemed alive enough that I think we were intended to not care.
 

ISNorden

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
1,294
Reaction score
54
I saw a lot of live puppet shows growing up, myself--so I figured out that the Muppets were just puppets early on, even though some of them were built to do stuff that normal ones couldn't. (The scenes with Bert and Ernie drinking through straws must've had a bottle inside each Muppet, for instance...though how the performers made the beverage go up realistically, I'll never know.)
 

D'Snowth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
38,849
Reaction score
12,814
I got to be honest, I never actually wondered why most of the Muppet characters like that were only seen from the waist up... interestingly enough, I remember reading years later an encyclopedia article about Jim Henson and it mentioned how the characters were shot from the waist up for the most part, instead of from behind something to give them more realism.

One thing I did used to wonder when I was little is why they seemed to always have their hands on their tummies when they weren't moving, lol.
 

chudman1000

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
32
Yeah I don't rememeber giving it much thought back then either. However this is kind of funny. Remember how Bert and Ernie sometimes had that counter in the living room to block off the muppeteers? To be complete I used to actually build that out of Lego to put in My Fisher Price Little People Sesame Street building. So even my FisherPrice Muppets got the "waist up" treatment!
 
Top